August facts
While investigating facts about August, I found out little known, but curios details like:
In August 2012, Lily Allen was accused of racism after writing "I hate it when black cab drivers spend the entire journey on the phone. I WANTED A CHAT!" Allen responded that in Britain and Europe taxicabs are called "black cabs" because they are painted black.
All telephone service in the US and Canada was silenced for one minute on August 4th, 1922 to mark the funeral of Alexander Graham Bell
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 50 of the best facts about August I managed to collect.
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The Hiroshima Flame of Peace was lit on 1st August 1964 in hope of a world without nuclear weapons, and it will continue to burn until nuclear weapons are abolished worldwide
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On August 9, 1965 Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and becomes the only country to date to gain independence unwillingly
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Cost for solar has decreased from $101.05 per watt in 1975 to $0.447 per watt in August of 2016. The cheapest bid for unsubsidized solar is 2.42¢/kWh—cheaper per kWh than natural gas, coal, or nuclear power can provide practically anywhere in the world.
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On August 4, 1922, phone service across the United States and Canada was suspended for one minute to honor Alexander Graham Bell's funeral with a moment of silence.
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Martin Luther King Jr. said he experienced far more hatred in Chicago than he ever did in Alabama or Mississippi. King took part of the Chicago Housing Movement in August 1966 with thousands of local whites jeering, throwing bricks, and displaying Confederate and Nazi signs all over the city.
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Many countries have their own version of “when pigs fly.” In South Africa it’s “When horses grow horns.” In Russia: “When the crawfish whistles on the mountain.” In Albania: “On August 36.” In Greece: “Right on the Day of St. Dick’s”
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Princess Pauline von Metternich and Countess Anastasia Kielmannsegg fought a topless duel with swords in August 1892 after arguing about flower arrangements. Baroness Lubinska, who had a medical degree, insisted they fight topless so clothing couldn’t get into a wound and cause sepsis.
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The longest lived domestic cat was named Creme Puff. She lived from August 3, 1967 to August 6, 2005, a span of 38 years and 3 days. This is well over double the normal life span for domestic cats, which is typically around 12-14 years for males and 13-15 years for females.
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Judy Melinek, a medical examiner who identified hundreds of bodies from the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, many of which were merely scraps of flesh or pieces of limb. She was called in mid-August 2002 because they had found a foot bone on top of another skyscraper 1/5 mile away.
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Michele Miscavige, wife of the leader of the Church of Scientology, hasn't been seen in public since August 2007.
August data charts
For your convenience take a look at August figures with stats and charts presented as graphic.
What is true about august?
You can easily fact check it by examining the linked well-known sources.
On August 14 1945, more than 1,000 Japanese officers raided the Imperial palace to destroy the recording of the Emperor's speech of surrender. Confused by the layout of the palace, the rebels never found the recording. It was later smuggled outside in basket of women's underwear for broadcast.
On August 31, 1986, five-year-old Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness. Jambo stood guard over the boy when he was unconscious, placing himself between the boy and other gorillas in what ethologists analyze as a protective gesture. - source
On 23 August 1989, around 2 million people joined hands in a human chain that stretched 600 kilometres across the 3 Baltic countries, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. They did this to protest their countries forced inclusion in the Soviet Union. - source
When The Beatles first met Elvis Presley for the first (and only) time in August 1965, they were so starstruck that Elvis said that he would go to bed unless one of the band members spoke to him. The Beatles ended up spending between 2 and 3 hours with him.
On August 1, 1946, in Athens, Tennessee, battle-hardened WWII veterans won a shootout with highly corrupt police deputies who were manipulating ballots and illegally holding ex-GIs in the county jail. - source
In August 2013, Google went down for 5 minutes and, as a result, took 40% of all internet traffic with it
On August 16, 2013, Google went down for 5 minutes and in that time, the global internet traffic dropped by 40%.
Ronald Reagan fired 11,345 air traffic controllers in August of 1981 for failing to carry out their oath to never strike as employees of the US federal government.
On August 26, 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughn described a disturbing dream to his band mates in which he witnessed his own funeral. The next day, he tragically died in a helicopter crash.
On August 25, 1967, George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party, was shot and killed in Arlington, VA. Hearing of his son's death, Rockwell's father said: "I am not surprised at all. I've expected it for quite some time."
On August 16, 1996, at Brookfield Zoo, a 3 year-old boy fell into a Gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness. Binti Jua, a female Gorilla, guarded the young boy from the other gorillas, cradled him in her arms and carried him 60 feet to an entrance where zookeepers could retrieve him.
August infographics
Beautiful visual representation of August numbers and stats to get perspecive of the whole story.
I analyzed 36,795 job offers from the official Mexican job board during the month of August and these are the results.
